The City of Broken Hill is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

in the

Far West Far West may refer to: Places * Western Canada, or the West ** British Columbia Coast * Western United States, or Far West ** West Coast of the United States * American frontier, or Far West, Old West, or Wild West * Far West (Taixi), a term us ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. The area contains an isolated

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

city,

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It ...

, located in the

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a ...

of New South Wales and is surrounded by the

Unincorporated Far West Region The Unincorporated Far West Region is an unincorporated area in the Far West region of New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , ...

. The city is located adjacent to the Silver City and

Barrier Highway Barrier Highway is a highway in South Australia and New South Wales, and is designated part of route A32. The name of the highway is derived from the Barrier Ranges, an area of moderately high ground in the far west of New South Wales, through w ...

s and the

Broken Hill railway line The Broken Hill railway line is now part of the transcontinental railway from Sydney to Perth. New South Wales's first line opened from Sydney to Parramatta Junction (near Granville Station) in 1855 and was extended as the Main Western line in ...

. The

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of the City of Broken Hill Council is Cr. Tom Kennedy, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

politician.

Council history

Following a petition submitted by residents to the Colonial Secretary on 2 May 1888, the Municipal District of Broken Hill was first incorporated on 22 September 1888. The incorporation occurred during a

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several d ...

epidemic, which killed 128 people, and the need for public health and water supply provisions was one of the main driving forces behind incorporation, and one of the biggest issues for the new municipality. One contemporary report commented that "The town is in a terrible state owing to defective sanitary arrangements. People continue to leave by trains daily in hundreds in view of the impending drought." As a consequence, in 1892 the private Broken Hill Water Supply Company completed construction on the Stephens Creek Reservoir, which provided the first reliable clean water supply to the town. The first council was divided into four wards: Burke, Wills, Sturt and King, each returning three aldermen, and the first election, conducted by Charles George Gibson as Returning Officer, was held at the Broken Hill Court House on 24 November 1888. The ward system remained in place until early 1909 when the council requested that the state government abolish the wards and elect the aldermen proportionally, which was proclaimed on 24 May 1909. By 1891 the population had passed 23,000, making Broken Hill the third largest town in New South Wales, and that number continued to grow, reaching 25,000 by 1897. Civic improvements, spurred on by silver mining profits, continued during the 1890s with the construction of schools, a technical college, town hall, post offices and gaol. Timber and temporary structures gave way to brick and stone, the town's streets were paved and recreation reserves were planted with trees. The council commissioned the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, designed in the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

style by Whittall & Wells of Adelaide, with the foundation stone laid by Sir Henry Parkes on 3 April 1890. The hall was officially opened by the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the A ...

, Lord Jersey, with the

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gen ...

, Lord Kintore, in attendance, on 6 August 1891. The council was renamed the Municipality of Broken Hill following the passage of the Municipalities Act, 1897 on 6 December 1897. The council's population continue to grow in this period and by 1906, the council resolved to apply for

City status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...

, being able to fulfil the city conditions set in ''Local Government Act, 1906'', and the City of Broken Hill was proclaimed on 17 July 1907, the only municipality to do so under the 1906 act.

Later history

Following the release of the report of public inquiry that detailed ongoing infighting among councillors and their conflicts with staff and councillor interference in operational matters, on 10 January 2007 the council was dismissed by the Minister for Local Government, Kerry Hickey. The elected council was replaced by a single

Administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

, with the former Broken Hill General Manager, Ken Boyle, appointed. Elections originally scheduled for September 2008 were deferred and the council remained under administration until a special election held on 5 December 2009. In 2015, Broken Hill became the first city in Australia to be included on the

National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and ...

Demography

Council

Current composition and election method

Broken Hill City Council is composed of nine

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s elected proportionally as a single

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The

is elected directly by a popular vote. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021 and the makeup of the council is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:

Mayors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Broken Hill Local government areas of New South Wales Australian National Heritage List Far West (New South Wales) 1888 establishments in Australia *